Capital Project Management in Conservation and Collections Care

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We provide strategic oversight and project management support for complex capital projects involving conservation and collections care. Our work supports organisations in planning, coordinating, and delivering high-value initiatives that affect collections, buildings, and people, ensuring that projects are managed responsibly and aligned with organisational objectives.

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Capital projects in heritage settings often involve multiple disciplines, significant risk, and long-term consequences for collections. Our role is to help organisations navigate this complexity with clarity, structure, and proportionate decision-making.

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What we support

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We work with museums, libraries, archives, and historic houses on a wide range of collections-related capital projects, including:

 

• Capital collections care projects

• Large, high-investment projects involving significant upgrades to storage, infrastructure, or preservation systems, often linked to long-term strategic planning or major funding programmes.

• Building redevelopment projects affecting collections

• Construction, refurbishment, or redevelopment projects that require the decanting, movement, protection, and safeguarding of collections throughout the project lifecycle.

• Disaster recovery and salvage projects

• Coordinated response, stabilisation, and recovery of collections affected by events such as water ingress, mould, fire, or seismic activity, with a focus on both immediate response and long-term preservation.

• Collections care surveys and planning projects

• Condition surveys, risk assessments, and preservation surveys that provide a robust evidence base for strategic collections care planning and future investment.

• Store reorganisation and re-housing projects

• Large-scale projects that reduce preservation risk and improve access through the reorganisation of storage areas and the re-housing of collections into appropriate conservation-grade materials.

 

How we work

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Our approach to capital projects integrates collections care expertise with organisational and governance considerations. We work at the interface between strategy and delivery, supporting organisations to make informed decisions throughout the project.

 

This typically includes:

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• clarifying project scope, roles, and responsibilities

• supporting governance and decision-making structures

• coordinating between collections, conservation, facilities, and external contractors

• identifying and managing risk throughout the project lifecycle

• ensuring collections care priorities are maintained alongside programme and budget constraints

 

Our involvement can be tailored to different stages of a project, from early planning and feasibility through to delivery, transition, and review.

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Why this matters

 

Capital projects can introduce significant risk to collections if they are not planned and managed carefully. Clear governance, realistic planning, and informed decision-making are essential to protecting collections while enabling organisations to achieve their broader objectives.

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Our work helps organisations:

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• manage complexity without over-engineering

• reduce risk to collections during change

• make defensible, transparent decisions

• align collections care with organisational priorities and capacity

 

Getting started

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If you would like to discuss a current or upcoming capital project, or explore how this service might support your organisation, please get in touch to arrange an initial conversation.